Like many books, the Dark is Rising sequence seems to have escaped me as a child. You'd think the teachers who recommended the Narnia books might have seen fit to pass this one along as well, but they didn't, and so twenty years after I should have read it, I finally made my way through the quaint little tale of Over Sea, Under Stone. My rating probably seems low considering the esteem this series has, but I believe it is due to the nature of this book rather than its content. I could be wrong in that, but I hope I'm not because I'd like to read the rest of the series.

I should explain myself. I feel like Over Sea, Under Stone is an origin story of sorts. It has introduced integral plot characters, introduced important devices (such as the Grail), and given a background for future events. In and of itself, I didn't think that this first book of the series was great. I enjoyed it. It's quaint and charming in that way that only British novels seem to be. Thankfully I did not find it very childish, and indeed the writing is more complicated than I might have expected from something found in a junior fiction section. However, as a complete tale in and of itself, I found most of Over Sea, Under Stone to be somewhat bland. But as I said, I knew this was a series going in to it, and ever at the back of my mind was the idea that this was but a genesis for the rest of a sweeping and epic tale involving King Arthur and all the things I loved as a child (and still do love because I haven't much grown up). So I will continue to read this series, and I hope the series titled next book, The Dark is Rising, lives up to my expectations for it.